I was not originally drawn to this movie in the theater, mostly because I am not a fan of ballet, and honestly, not a big Natalie Portman fan either. However, I was curious enough, after all of the Oscars commotion over this film, to rent it at Red Box and see what all the fuss was about.
I was glad I was able to watch this in surround sound, because the soundtrack was probably the most appealing aspect of this film. However, perhaps my tastes are a bit different than professional reviewers and movie critics, because there was a lot lacking in this film, especially from a Christian perspective.
First and foremost, as a Christian, I was deeply disturbed by many scenes in this movie where sex was thrown around, almost casually between characters. In fact, there was one scene that was borderline, if not entirely, pornographic in nature. I wouldn't necessarily say I am a prude, but I was not even remotely aware that anything like this would take place in this movie. For all of the raving about this movie, this was a major disappointment for me.
The storyline itself is a bit jaded for my tastes. There were many times when I was trying to guess as to whether what I was watching was actual life, or was intended as a dream/nightmare sequence. There really was no clear distinction between either, so the director left you guessing throughout the entire movie. This again, is not my style, as I like to know just exactly what the heck I am watching. I mean, if this is a dream, make it clear to me. I watch a movie to be entertained, not to be left with riddles as to what exactly I just saw. And for that, it was extremely frustrating to get through.
The other thing I detest in movies are extreme closeups. Because this was a ballet movie the director opted to shadow the camera on Portman's shoulders and use the "real life" option, where the camera bumps along, pretending like you are right there with her. I detest this because I get a headache trying to follow the camera, and in actuality, you can't really see anything. And in other dance scenes they used an overall stage image, where you could see everything. But they left out most of the "in between" images, to where if you were 50 yards away you would see it like that. But we either got the extreme close up, or the "from a distance" view. Highly frustrating.
I won't necessarily complain about the acting, as I would say that Portman does a fine job. But the overall premise and storyline of the movie, and the way this thing was portrayed, did a great disservice to anything Portman put out there. There was just too much that the viewer has to overcome to be able to appreciate what Portman does here. I was left with too many disturbing images, and unnecessary sex scenes, as well as too much foul language to actually appreciate the art of ballet that was being represented here.
Bottom line, this is definitely a movie that I hope to soon forget, and to never have see again. 1 out of 5 stars - and that is being kind.
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